Canyon de Chelly–Day 3

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

This morning after breakfast, we packed everything and headed for the north rim to see the canyon.  Reason we are taking the motorhome is the north rim has only three viewing areas and the road to I-40 can be reached by going around the east end of the canyon.

It was about 10:30 when we pulled into the first viewing area.

Antelope House Overlook

Mummy Cave Overlook

Massacre Cave Overlook

We then continued on the North Rim Drive until we hit a horse jam.

 

After a short wait, we were on our way toward hwy 12 and then took that south through the mountains right along the Arizona and New Mexico border.   Saw snow for the first time in awhile.

Went through towns like Navajo, N.M. and Window Rock until we came out in Gallup, N.M. and jumped on I-40.

It rained lightly all the way to the Walmart in Albuquerque, N.M.  Got here around 6 pm and we are in for the night.

See you later.

Hike Down the Canyon de Chelly–Day 2

Tuesday, March 17, 2015 – St. Patrick’s Day

This morning after breakfast, I left poor Yuma in the motorhome and headed up the south rim to the Whitehouse Overlook.  The trail to the bottom of the canyon starts here.

The sign says it is a 1 1/2 mile hike to the bottom where the Whitehouse ruins are located.  As I hike down, I take photos of what I see.

I can tell soon into the hike that it is not for those who are squeamish around high places with no guard rails.  This trail goes down along the canyon wall and there is nothing to stop you from just going over the edge if you do not pay attention to where you walk.

The trail turns to the right at the small rocks you see, but where I am walking looks the same except a little flatter and a little wider.  The photo on the right shows you my trail.

As I reach the bottom of the canyon, it goes through a tunnel and you come out on the canyon floor.  There is a small cabin just beyond the tunnel entrance.

That is the canyon wall I came down.

As I walked along the bottom of the canyon, I crossed over the Rio de Chelly and the ruins were just ahead.

Made it to the Whitehouse ruins.  This is as close as you get.  There is a fence protecting the ruins.

While sitting at the bottom of the canyon listening to the wind quietly whistle through the cottonwood trees, I looked high up the side of the canyon above the ruins and watched an eagle soar along the rim.

See you later.

Canyon de Chelly–Day 1

Monday, March 16, 2015

Arrived at the campground around 3 pm and got set up and then headed out to the south rim of the canyon to get photos of the canyon in the late afternoon.

The south rim of the Canyon de Chelly is 18 miles in length and with the return drive, it is a total of 36 miles.  Along the rim, they have turnouts where you can stop and take photos.

 

 

This is an example of a Pueblo hut they had at the entrance near the visitor center.

This is the Tsegi Overlook.  First one looking to the west and the second toward the east.  Trees definitely do not add any greenery to the scene.  Very brown and drab colored.

Junction Overlook.

White House Overlook.

If you look off my right shoulder you will see some ruins in the dark area and below the dark area.  There is a 1 1/2 mile trail that goes down the canyon to those ruins.  This is the only trail allowed to travel without paying for a guide.  Tomorrow, I will walk that trail and take photos of those ruins close up.

Face Rock Overlook.

Spider Rock Overlook.

Unfortunately, I cannot get the true look with the correct depth, but you get the idea that the canyon is very deep.  Time to call it a long day.

See you later.

Destination Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

Monday, March 16, 2015

I wanted to get an early start this morning, because I was anxious to see how my brakes were doing on my motorhome.  With no breakfast, we packed and were on the road by 7:15 am. 

Drove north on hwy 188 for 30 miles along the Roosevelt Lake through the Tonto Basin until we reached hwy 87.  My first decision was whether to go back down the mountain to Mesa and have my brakes checked or go north to Payson and see how the brakes handle.  My old “never turn back” philosophy kicked in, so I headed up the mountain to Payson, Arizona.

It was only 15 miles to Payson, but it was an all uphill 15 miles to Payson.  The motorhome did fine at about 35 – 45 mph during the climb and our reward for doing this was a stop at McDs.  Hadn’t had a McDonalds breakfast for ages, so I sprung for Yuma and me.  I had the Egg McMuffin meal and Yuma had a sausage sandwich.

It was while I was parked at McDs I learned a vital piece of information about downshifting when going down hills.  I was talking to a man that had lived in the area all his life.  I asked him about the roads to I-40 and hwy 60 from Show Low on eastward. 

I was telling him about my harrowing 5 mile downhill experience on hwy 87 from Mesa.  I told him it didn’t seem to help when I put the truck in 2nd gear because I couldn’t feel the engine pulling and I couldn’t tell the rpms without a tach.  He said be sure you take the motorhome out of overdrive.  Overdrive!  I had forgotten all about the Overdrive button on the steering column.  What a dummy!

After breakfast, we headed towards the town of Heber, 32 miles along the Mogollon Rim on hwy 260.  We were now on top of the world at about 6000 feet and it was beautiful.

We had one long uphill climb after Payson to the 6000 foot level and during the drive there were a couple of 6% downhill runs.  When I turned off the Overdrive, the engine in the motorhome would start pulling and slowing us down.   It worked great!  Lesson learned.  I am now a motorhome mountain climber.

When I reached Heber, I had to make a decision.  Do I continue on hwy 260 and go on over to Show Low and take hwy 60 east; or, do I go north on hwy 277 to Holbrook and catch I-40?

The reason I’m thinking I-40 is because in my blog comments yesterday, Al from Travel with the Bayfield Bunch mentioned that if I was in northern Arizona, I should check out Canyon de Chelly.  If I went north to Holbrook and jumped on the I-40, I would be heading right for the turn-off to the Canyon.

Since I really had no reason to travel hwy 60 and I still don’t trust my brakes, I decided to head north and stay a few nights at the Canyon de Chelly and check it out.  Thanks Al, for telling me about it.

After a 7 hour drive, Yuma and I are now staying at the Navajo Indian Reservation in the Cottonwood Campground for $14 a night.  No water or electricity, but they do have bathrooms.  It is a nice campground and not too crowded.  The big plus is that it is located right at the entrance to the canyon just outside the town of Chinle, Arizona on hwy 191.

I will not be publishing my blog for the next few days because I am using a network other than Verizon and they restrict my data.  So, I will write them and prepare the photos, but not publish until I am back in civilization.

 See you later.

Short Drive on Apache Trail and a Good Deed

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Today, Yuma and I didn’t do much.  Took a couple of walks and rested outside in the beautiful sunshine.  Later in the day, we took a drive over the Roosevelt Bridge and turned right at hwy 88 (The Apache Trail).  After one mile, the asphalt ends and it is a dirt road running along the Salt River for 23 miles and then becomes asphalt for the rest of the way to Apache Junction, Arizona. 

I have heard it is a beautiful scenic drive but I wasn’t up to a dusty, washboard road today, so we only drove a few miles.  About two miles down the road there is a boat launch area on the right.  We drove down and watched the river for a bit and then drove back up to the Apache Trail.

One thing of interest did happen though.  Across the road from the entrance to the boat launch area, there was a jeep trail going up into a wash.  I decided to take a look. 

We didn’t drive very far before it became fairly rough, so we parked the jeep and Yuma and I walked along the wash as it went into the mountains.  About a half mile in, we ran onto a nice looking pickup truck right in the middle of the wash.  Looked like whomever drove it there had driven it as far as it would go until it got stuck in the wash.

Unfortunately, the nice pickup had been set on fire and someone had thrown a large boulder right on top of the engine.  This was not the 4X4 type of pickup that might try going up the wash, but a nice pickup that was strictly for the street.  Had nice rims and sat low to the ground.  Had fiberglass replacement parts and chrome pieces in the engine bay.  To me, it looked like it had been someone’s pride and joy.  Now it was just a burned out hulk.

We walked back to the jeep and on the way back to camp, I stopped at the Sheriff’s sub station located near the Roosevelt Lake visitor center where I had purchased my camping passes earlier in the week.

The deputy took my report and said he would have an officer drive out there and investigate.  My good deed for the day.

See you later.